Wings of Change
by TheRedhood908
Summary: The future is predicated on the decisions we make today. It's not set in stone, and is all too often subject to the whims, desires and especially loves of today. Hawkgirl didn't want to face change. Little did she know, change is inevitable with the right Question. (warning for brief mention of suicide and character death. Not for GL fans)
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sorry. I know how much this means to you. I know the pain you are suffering. But to do as you ask violates all of my beliefs. I'm sorry Shayera" he says, J'onn's monotone voice mixing with his obvious sympathy.

She knew this was a possibility. Knew that it was a long shot, but in a world of aliens and portals to other dimensions, time travel and super powers, she had thought that perhaps it wasn't so insane as to ask about the possibility of something so simple as to make her forget something. She'd even thought that it wasn't quite so insane as to hope.

"It's okay J'onn. Thank you for trying" the Thanagarian woman says, standing up and beginning to move off. There was nothing she could do now. Her hope had become a still born dream. Rex was never going to exist. She couldn't help it, tears began to leak out of her eyes and down her mask. She had never felt quite so broken. Not since John Stewart had broken up with her, or even worse when she had betrayed the Justice League.

"Wait. I cannot erase the knowledge you had of the possible future" the Martian interrupts, causing her to pause. What was J'onn saying? He was never one to reiterate a point unnecessarily. Where was he going with this?

"However, there are other ways of coming to terms with what you have lost Shayera. I suggest you speak to the Question. Tell him I sent you and that I request his help. I want him to tell you about his own loss" he says before turning back to a watchtower monitor, doing….whatever it is that J'onn did at any given moment. He did too much to have it pinned down.

She was going to ask what speaking to the faceless lunatic would accomplish but at the last moment decided not to. If Manhunter thought that there was cause for something, then there was every reason to do it. "Okay J'onn. I will. Don't see how it'll help but I will" she says, turning and walking off towards the personal quarters section of the watchtower.

Her mind begins to wonder, turning back to the events that brought her here. Not _**here **_per say, but more to what her life was at the moment. When she fully betrayed the league during the Thanagarian invasion, she never expected to be let back in. She'd fought beside them, laughed and even though it made her heart ache to remember, loved one of them, the Green Lantern known as John Stewart. She lost all of that accumulated respect in one instant. His love was gone as well.

She'd stood with them in the end, for all that was worth. To Wally and J'onn it had been enough but understandably in her mind,Clark, Bruce, John and Diana overruled them. She wasn't supposed to know this of course. It was a secret vote, but Wally had told her, being one of her only true friends left in the League or at least the only one willing to openly associate with her. She'd left. Not knowing where to go and not knowing what to do, she'd wound up in a few strange places. A stint with Justice League Dark for a few months, some time spent in Bludhaven and even a month in Jump City. None of it worked out. Her past still followed her.

Her last stop had been the Tower of Fate where she remained for a few months until Doctor Fate started to subtly nudge her back out into the world. It was clear that he wanted some alone time with his wife and that wasn't easy with the sulking Thanagarian around. The obviousness of their love having a physical effect on her. It reminded her too much of what had been starting between her and John. It was painful to be there.

So, to make a long story short, she rejoined the now expanded Justice League. It had been disorientating at first, being relegated to a second class hero in a now much more populated Tower but it was her only way back in. Her only way back to him. So she took it and begged and pleaded to be put back on the roster. Her case was that Thanagarian honor required her to atone for her betrayal. To prove herself again in their eyes and the people of Earth's. John was not present, being on Oa at the time, so the vote came down to Wally, J'onn, Clark and Bruce, surprising her to the core. Diana was the only "no" vote and she couldn't blame her. The angry Amazon stormed out after the vote was cast, obviously allowing Hawkgirl back into the Justice League.

Bruce and Clark were more reserved about their decision of course, but they explained that their belief in second chances overrode their anger at her. "Welcome back" Clark had said, a light smile on his lips whereas Batman simply nodded and walked off. It was clear that things would never be as they were. She didn't let that bother her. Her main mission now was to get John to accept her again. To start over and work on it. It was one of the main things that kept her going day to day.

When John returned, he had been shocked to hear or his former lover's return. Aside from this, he had been cold. Utterly cold. It hurt, like a knife thrust into her heart, but she could accept it. It was deserved in her eyes after all. She just needed to work on getting him to thaw. It would be easy. Their accumulated history had to account for something right?

Apparently that was not the case. Not long after she returned, a certain fact hit her straight in the face. John was not single. It wasn't completely out of left field. She had been gone a while and it wasn't unnatural to assume that the expansion of the League wouldn't put more superheroes into contact with one another. These things happened. Put a bunch of men and women on a tin can floating through space and it was bound to happen. People shacked up in the best of circumstances. Imagine adding the constant threat of death?

Unfortunately, the relationship between John and Mari, a.k.a Vixen, was stronger than anticipated. John wouldn't even spend more than three seconds alone with Shayera, let alone attempt to rekindle the romance. One day he had taken her aside, speaking with her when she had tried to seek him out. "What is it you want Hawkgirl?" He had asked gruffly, causing her to flinch at the loss of closeness the name change implied. "I just want us…" she started to say, only to be cut off. "That's the problem. Us. There is no us Hawkgirl. Not anymore. Things are different and they have to be from now on. Do you understand?" He asked, not waiting for an answer before storming off.

It had left the usually immovable woman in tears. She was lucky enough to be able to get to her room before she collapsed.

Time moved differently after that. Much quicker. The weeks turned into months with no real change in her standing at the tower. Of course a few heroes like Black Canary and Vigilante had warmed to her, giving her at least a group of friends. But she was disincluded in every other way. Never an invite to the meetings or even any acknowledgement from the other founders. Wally kept close. As did J'onn. But friendship was not everything. Not when she felt her heart ache whenever she saw John with Mari.

It only got worse. Apparently, it had leaked out that a few Leaguers had travelled to a future disorientated and changed by a criminal in their timeline. John, Bruce and Wally followed through to assist.

The details were fuzzy, but again Wally proved to be a true friend. He had taken her aside one day and told her about what had happened. The gravity of his facial expression told her that it was necessary to listen to what he had to say.

"Shay, something happened in the future. We met someone" he had said to start off.

It all came out after. She and John had a son. Rex, known as War Hawk. He was a member of the Justice League, or rather would be. The news was just what she had been waiting for. It was almost as if some force in the cosmos had granted her wish. Her first impulse was to rush off to find John. To talk it over. It was obvious, even to her, that they were meant to be together. After all, how could they have a son in the future if they weren't meant to be?

The Flash stopped her though, his hands on her shoulders. She could see in his eyes that something was wrong. "You uhh, shouldn't go to and talk to him right now. For one he'd know I told you, and two because he hasn't taken it very well" he says sheepishly, fully preparing to be shoved aside. After all, that's what the old Hawkgirl would've done. But she knew he was right. It was better to give John time. Let him think it over. Maybe even come to his own conclusions. So she just nodded and said, "thanks Wally. I'm sure he won't be too mad", before walking off, heading to her own room to think over what she should say. After all, to her it was already settled.

Wally West just stood there and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Wish you were right about that" he said to himself before zipping off to wherever it was he wanted to go. Most likely the lunch room. His two favorite things were there, food and women.

As for John Stewart, he didn't need much time to come to a conclusion. It was just two days later that he caught up to her, tapping her on the shoulder while she was heading to the briefing room. "Can we talk for a second?" He had asked to which HawkGirl smiled and nodded. "Of course John. Let's go" she said, comfortingly rubbing his shoulder and moving off to a more private area. She knew she should play harder to get. Maybe show a bit more of the old her, the one not afraid to take any guff. She didn't have it in her though. Why not make it easier on her future husband to confess after all? So sure she was that that was what he intended to do.

Seconds later they find themselves in an empty conference room, a few scattered papers from the last case left on the table. "What did you wanna talk about John?" She asked, moving closer and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She sees the discomfort in his eyes and can't help but be hurt when he gently removed her arms from his body. "I think you know. Wally already told me that he told you. Relax, him and I are cool" he said to which she nodded. She was happy that Wally wouldn't be on the Green Lantern's list but she was much more concerned about how things stood between her and John than between him and Wally.

"Well, there isn't an easy way to say this Shayera. I know this is going to sound harsh but, nothing's changed. I'm going to stay with Mari" he said, shattering the woman's illusions with her words. For a moment all she can do is look at him, her eyes searching his for any sign that this was a practical joke. She'd kill him if so, but all the same she wished that there was. Instead he remained as resolute as stone, fully meaning everything he had said.

"But...what about…" she starts to ask before being cut off once more, as if he was trying to prevent her from even saying his name. "I know. But we have to look at this logically. That was the future, a future that is based on the decisions we make today. There's also the fact that that future was all out of whack. Who knows what could've been altered or changed? In the end we have to go on what we know. What I know is that I love Mari. I want to be with her. There is nothing between us anymore. I want to make all this clear. Understand?" He asks, a little brusquely, trying to stave off any reaction by leaving.

This was classic John. Emotional avoidance and all. Shayera turns, trying to speak but finding that no words can come out. She doesn't have anything to say. In her mind, John had just killed their son. She is able to hold in her tears once more, only letting loose once she got to her room. It took two days before she could come out in public on the tower again. That was when she went to J'onn, asking if he could erase her memories of her son. The son that would never be born. Even as she walked to the Question's usual haunt, she couldn't help but tear up at the thought. Her son would never be born. And it was all because of her, or so she thought and reasoned. If she had never betrayed the team, or John, he wouldn't feel the way he did about her. And if things were the same, the future would be as well.

She buries these thoughts however. She won't let this stranger, a man she didn't even know, see her cry. "Why did J'onn even send me here anyway? What will this even accomplish?" She asks before sighing and knocking. It couldn't hurt, and if J'onn suggested it then she owed it to him as one of her last true friends on the team. "Who is it?" Comes a barely audible and yet grainy sounding voice from the other side. "It's HawkGirl. J'onn asked me to come see you" she responds, unsure of herself as the silence she received in return to her greeting stretched out into a minute. Finally a sigh, and a shuffle of feet is audible, moving from across the room to the door. It opens, revealing a man she had seen only a few times around the base.

What was most striking instantly was his lack of face. The next item of note was his unkempt dark hair and loose tie. The man was an obvious mess. "What did the Martian want? He already told me he can't help" he says simply, his voice a strange monotone stuck between apathy and the vaguest hint of pain. It stops her for a minute. He'd asked for Manhunter's help as well?

"He told me to come see you. Ask you about your loss" she says bluntly, inwardly cringing at how that sounded. It was obvious that whatever had happened to the man, it was severe. Before she can apologize, she hears a light laughter, sarcastic and coarse, coming from the man. "Ahh, so let me guess. He wants me to tell you about what happened to me so you won't feel so bad about losing your boy toy and your son. That's it right?"

It's all she can do to not smash his face in instantly. How dare he mock her loss! She turns to walk away, wanting to get out of there before she does something she regrets before another sigh is brought forth by the man. "Wait, I'm sorry. That was callous of me. Come in, if you want. I'm sure the Martian means well" he says, stepping aside and causing the winged woman to stop. With reluctance she turns around and enters into the room, instantly taking in the sparseness of it. She didn't know much about the man, but he didn't exactly have a reputation as a clean freak. She expected newspapers and all sorts of other detritus around, but instead saw that the room was rather tidy.

The first thing of interest was a board that took up half the wall. It was filled with newspaper clippings and other articles, all attached with multi colored string and pins. Crop circles, girl scout cookies and FEMA. All unrelated to her, but apparently not to him.

"So you want to know what happened hmm? Maybe it would make things easier for you. I suppose if it helps one person it would be worth it" he says, sitting down in a chair across the room, gesturing at the other one to invite her to sit. She nods, remaining quiet for the moment as she begins to sit. It's only as she does so that a picture placed on his desk pops out at her. It's him, as evidenced by the facelessness, with a woman who was vaguely familiar. It suddenly clicked to her. She had seen a newspaper story on this woman. A superhero who had died a year or so before she returned to the League. It was something involving Cadmus, a secret government program. Beyond that she didn't know much.

"Huntress was her name. Not her real name. Her real name was Helena Bertenelli. She was my fiancee" he said simply, the pain evident in his voice as he spoke. Shayera doesn't say anything. Not yet anyway. It was clear that he needed to get this out.

A moment of silence follows as he leans forward, putting his face in his hands. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I guess I've held it in for so long. Everyone knew. They knew but I couldn't tell them what has really been going on in my mind. So here you are. I had asked J'onn the same thing you probably asked him. To take away my memories. To make the pain go away. He gave me the same answer as you. That's why you're here" he says, pausing for a moment.

"Cadmus did it. They captured me. Tried to make me tell them what I knew about a few top secret League things. I won't go into it. It would put you in danger. They kept me for days. Tried to make me break. Showed me all manner of horrible things. I didn't crack. On the fourth day she came, having traced where I was. My Helena was an amazing woman. She was a teacher during her day job. She loved children. All unimportant to you I know but it meant the world to me" he says as Shayera begins to shift in her seat, the story's end becoming more and more obvious.

"She was getting me out. I was too wounded to walk on my own, so I was leaning on her shoulder. We were close. So close to the exit. Superman had just arrived and was assisting in holding off some of Cadmus' soldiers. I was so pathetic but here she was, my own guardian angel, carrying me as if I was worth anything. She was always better than I deserved. It cost her her life. One of them got around Superman and saw us. He got off one shot. One…" he says, the tears now staining his voice.

"My Helena crumpled to the ground, taking me with her. The best I can say was that it was quick and clean. She died instantly. A bullet wound right in her head. Superman got us out of there, carrying me and her. After that, well...time hasn't had much meaning but here we are" he says quietly, gesturing outward with his hands.

"Helena was pregnant. With my child. I was going to propose. We were going to get married and retire. Raise our baby. I don't even know if I lost my son or daughter. It was too early to tell" he says with a sigh, the tears audible in his voice. "So it puts us in similar boats except I lost my family and you lost a possibility of a certain family. I'm sorry to hear about your son. Rex wouldn't have been a good name though" he says simply, leading to the Thanagarian standing up in shock. After that story, she couldn't really be mad at the man but she was put off balance by the fact that he already knew. "How the hell do you know that?" She asked, utterly surprised.

She's met with a simple shrug. "I know everything I can. Or at least I try. In the past it was for the conspiracy. But now? I guess I do it to keep busy" he says from his seated position, leading to Shayera sitting down once more. "For what it's worth, and I know it's not worth much, I'm sorry" she says, if not feeling better about her loss, at least having it put in perspective. "Thank you" he says simply, his voice now lacking the tear soaked quality of before but instead simply sounding defeated.

It's quiet in his room, only the sound of the League's central air blowing through the vents.

"You know, when I'm feeling like this, I like to drink. Earth isn't Thanagar so what passes for fine quality is actually swill but I'm willing to overlook that. Wanna go get a few?" She asks, standing up and offering the man her hand. She wasn't good at being supportive, or showcasing how she felt. In truth, the Question's story had broken her heart and it took all she could to not hug the man. But showing that kind of vulnerability, especially in front of a stranger, was impossible for her. So the next best thing came to mind. Distraction, and the best distraction? Whiskey.

He looks at her hand and takes it, pulling himself up and letting it go as he does, walking towards the door. "Why not?" He asks simply and rhetorically before walking towards the transporter, quietly followed by Shayera. Within a few minutes they're in an alley behind a bar, somewhere in Gotham, Mr. Terrific not having asked any questions. What would he ask anyway? Why the two most depressed members of the League would want a drink? It wasn't in him. So he just beamed the two down.

_**Razor Corner Bar-Gotham City**_

"So, mind telling me how you're going to get a drink with the whole, lack of face thing?" She asks causing the man to stop. "I'm taking my mask off. It's not like anyone around here knows me" he says, pulling the can of aerosol out of his jacket and spraying it over his face, the mask peeling downwards and exposing him to her without another word.

"Woah, you sure about that? I mean your secret identity and all?" She asks as he pockets the mask and removes his hat, showing off his dark red hair and rather handsome face. "Why? It's not like you have one. I stopped caring about that. I don't have anybody left to protect anyway. And after Hub City was destroyed nobody even thinks I'm alive" he says simply, causing her to nod in understanding. She'd remembered hearing about the Hub. Some sort of biological weapon was dropped on it. Something to do with the Injustice League.

"Well, if you're sure then. What do I call you? Can't exactly call you Question or Q all the time" she says with a lilting smile, not noticing immediately how he seemed to recoil back in pain when she said Q. It dawns on her though, as soon as his silence is noted by her. "Did I say something wrong?" She asks to which he shakes his head sideways.

"Doing something wrong would imply you did it on purpose in this sense. You didn't. What you did was spark a memory, which is not your fault as it was done accidentally. Don't call me Q. Helena used to call me that. Call me Vic" he says as explanation before walking down the trash splattered Gotham alley, a police car driving down the road, sirens flashing as he did just in front.

Shayera sighs and rushes to catch up, standing next to the man and finding it constraining on her wings to stand side by side in the alleyway with him. "Alright Vic. Call me Shayera. Or Shay. Whatever you want. Let's get something to drink" she says as they turn the corner and walk into the bar.

_**Half an Hour Later**_

Raucous laughter broke out throughout the bar as Vic unsuccessfully tried to stack yet another empty bottle on top of his pyramid of others, the grass cracking as it cascaded down onto the bar floor. The man looked like a kicked puppy as he looked at his ruined creation, Shayera being unable to help herself as she burst into laughter and placed her arm around her new friend. "Just like the *hic* actual pyramids. The real ones were broken, *hic* destroyed in the fifties. The ones you see today were cheap tourist replacements" he says.

The other patrons of the bar, a hardscrabble bunch of some of Gotham's less upstanding citizens, had been uncomfortable with the two newcomers when they first arrived. After all, the wings on Shayera's back gave away who she was instantly, but her mace, strapped comfortably to her belt by a loop, was a good deterrent. Soon enough, the rest warmed to them. After all, Vic was buying rounds for anyone, apparently becoming very loose around alcohol. The gloomy man had done a one eighty in behavior, becoming more animated and talkative. It was mostly gibberish, more in line with the old conspiracy dedicated Question, but it was all the more interesting to Shayera in her inebriated state.

"Whaaa? That sounds crazy" she slurs out, having herself downed two whole bottles of whiskey.

"Not crazy, *hic* but less obvious" he retorts as she lays her head on his shoulder, laughing hysterically. "You're a funny guy Viccy" she teases, poking him in the nose and causing him to smile nervously back. "Thank *hic* you Shay" he says in return.

Seeing an opportunity, one of the other men in the bar swaggers up behind the duo, having a bit too much in him as well, and sets his sight on the Thanagarian. "Hey babe. What say you and me get outta here? With that many drinks in you I bet you'd be a ton of fun" he teases, leaning against the bar and pressing a hand to her rear end, cupping a cheek.

She wasn't that drunk as to allow something like that, and she turns, her hand going to her mace as her eyes glare a hole into the idiot's forehead.

A crack emanates throughout the bar, and suddenly the sensation of the hand on her ass is gone, the man falling to the ground, blood already dripping down his face from his nose. She looks around, curious as to who would have thrown the punch only to see Vic slouched out over the bar, his fist bloodied. Apparently she had been more drunk than she realizes because Vic had reached across her and the bar and punched the guy stone cold out.

"Don't *hic* touch my friend like that" he says, prompting the whole bar to look on for a moment before promptly disintegrating into a melee.

Three men rush at the still seated Question, obviously the knocked out man's friends, but before they can get close Shayera has vaulted into action, propelling herself forward with extra speed by a flap of her wings and panding an uppercut on the largest and most forward of the three while also swiping out her leg and knocking the one to her left to the ground. Unfortunately for her, that still left one man to her right, a man who had drawn a knife, and with teeth gritting against each other intended to stab the hero.

Before he can, a bar stool smashes across his face, forcing him to drop the knife and stumble backwards, falling to the floor comedically. Shayera looks back and smiles at her friend. "Thanks Vic. Two for me, two for you. We're even" she slurs out, realizing that the bar fight seemed to have been as quick throughout the rest of the bar as in their section, all the patrons either unconscious or swaying on their feet.

"We should *hic* get out of here" Vic says, coming up behind her and resting his arm across her shoulders. "Agreed. But...I'm too drunk to fly. And I doubt the barkeep will call us a cab"

"Is okay, I have place. You can spend night" he responds with sleepily, leading her to the door, the hilarious bout of hiccups seemily passed but leaving his speech rather simplistic. "Okay, but no funny business" she slurs back leading to him nodding and crossing his heart with his fingers. "And hope to die" he says, dissolving into a fit of giggles that is quickly followed by the warlike woman. This continued down the street and up into his apartment, which he spent five minutes trying to unlock with his car keys.

She liked his place, or at least her drunken perception of it. It was messier than his quarters in the tower and an even larger conspiracy board dominated the living room. He leads her to his bed room, opening the door and showing her to the rather large bed, a bed she falls on instantly, her mace clattering to the floor beside it. "You take bed I'll be on..couch, couch that's word for it" he says simply, his coat laying on the bedroom floor, his tie undone before he turns to move into the living room. He's stopped by a hand on his wrist, and he turns to see Hawkgirl, staring up at him with watery blue eyes.

"Can you..stay? Just hold me? Please?" She asks, obviously not wanting to be alone. It takes only one look at her eyes to convince Vic who nods and moves into the bed, motioning for her to move over to allow him room, something she does quickly. She turns into his arms, pressing her face into his chest as she begins to cry.

"Shhhh Shay, is okay I promise" he coos out, beginning to cry a bit himself as he remembers his own loss. Helena was gone. So was his child. Her future was gone. If he had been in a sober state the question that would've been on his mind would've been which was worse? To lose your happiness? Or to lose the possibility of your happiness? In a way it didn't matter.

"Shh" he keeps whispering, his hand coming up to brush through the hair of a woman that until tonight he hadn't exchanged more than a greeting with. Slowly their tears stop, turning into muffled exhales on her part. He feels something wrap around him though, and when he looks up he sees that Shayera has expanded her wings and wrapped them around the two as they lay in the bed. He sees that she has fallen asleep and slowly closes his eyes as well. Despite all the pain he held inside of him, he felt at ease and very warm. Who knew that Thanagarian wings would be so comfortable or smell so nice. He drifted off, dreaming of Helena and his child. They were waving at him, from over a hill just out of his reach.

_**The Next Morning**_

She woke up groggily, the effect of alcohol being less severe on her Thanagarian physiology than that of a human but still having quite an effect due to the amount she had consumed. The first thing that becomes visible to her through her slowly opening eye slits was a face. It took a minute but she recognized the chiseled and almost severe features. Vic. The Question. Her first thought was that he was a dead man. That he had taken advantage of her, but she is quickly brought down by two things.

The first was that she remembered the previous evening. He had offered to sleep on the couch and she had insisted he cuddle with her. It almost made her cringe to remember crying in this man's arms over something so small in comparison to his own loss. But Vic humored her, and moved into the bed next to her.

The next thing was that her wings were wrapped around the man. She wouldn't have normally done that. On Thanagar that was a very intimate thing to do, only between lovers. John wouldn't allow her to do that when they were together, saying it made him feel "stuffy and stuck". It occurred to her quickly that she must've been severely upset, no doubt assisted by the alcohol, to do such a thing with a stranger. Even if he was one of the good ones. She was good at gauging people. Or at the very least she thought she had been.

She slowly extricated her wings, bringing them off of the other man before slowly swing her legs over the bed. She was calmed even more by the fact that she was still in her uniform, though her mace was gone. She found it quick enough, moving over towards where it lay to pick it up on the other side of the bed. It just so happened at that moment that Victor woke up and moved in the bed, managing to catch a glance at Shayera bent over. He shakes his head a few times, blinking to steady his view. She was certainly very attractive.

"Good morning" he says simply, forcing the woman to turn around, a sheepish smile on her face as she walks back and sits on the bed next to the man, who himself swings his legs over the side and rubs the back of his neck. "We uhh, had a bit much to drink last night didn't we?" He starts off nervously as Shayera nods. "It would seem so. But thank you Vic. You were a gentlemen. I'm sorry I took your bed" she says, meaning it. He brushes it off however. "It's alright. Besides you didn't exactly take it. We shared it. I...I actually had a good night's sleep. No nightmares. I guess...well, thank you".

She tilts her head at him and smiles, placing her hand on his shoulder. It had felt good to be able to just fall apart and have someone there to put her back together. She felt much better than she had. Of course, her mind was still preoccupied with Rex and John, but it was somehow easier.

"I have league duty soon" he says simply, being in charge of most of the League's data preservation. It wasn't glamorous but it was vitally important. "Me too" she says simply, referring to what was to be her turn at the Watchtower's sentry duty, monitoring for any foreign object heading towards Earth. Again, not glamorous but essential.

A moment of silence passes between the two before she looks up and smiles. "Wanna get a coffee before we head back in? I know a good place" she asks.

"Sure. Sounds good"

_**Two Months Later-Downtown Metropolis**_

"Luthor really pulled out all the stops he could on this one didn't he?" asks Victor, ducking out of the way of a car being thrown at him by the now two story Giganta. It was hard to hear him over the still ringing sound of one of Banshee's screams in her ear, but she is able to nod, using her mace to hit Captain Cold in the side of the head, gently of course. Only enough to knock him out.

"It's like he's got an army. And all this for an assault on STARR Labs? Must be something important in there" she says, turning to see the Question land a vicious right hook on Deadshot, knocking him out as well.

As the assassin crumbles to the ground he turns and nods, making it clear to her that he was smiling beneath his mask. "Well, STARR Labs does secretly hold…"

"No, no, no. Battle first. Crazy conspiracy talk later" she says, smiling when he makes a zipping motion across his mouth.

It was rather funny how close the two had become over the previous months. After their sleepover the two had become fast friends, and it was clear that they needed each other. They were polar opposites of course but that only added to the fun. Missions, lunch and off times were usually spent together and as it turned out they made a good team.

"Well, whatever it is, it must be big to have a force the size of the league going after it. Any word from the others? Looks like we've cleaned up our area. What next?" He asks, turning to survey the destroyed block. A few different villains lay around, having been dispatched by not only Question and Hawkgirl but Booster Gold and Fire.

"Don't know. Rescue I guess? Doesn't seem like there's any civies around that need us. City was evacuated after all" she says with a shrug.

"Hmm" is all he says in response, dialing up on his phone Superman's communicator. She can't help but roll her eyes. It was one of Vic's "quirks" as she called them. He never kept a phone for more than a few days and refused a communicator. It made things...annoying to say the least.

"Question. How can I help you? We have Luthor in custody. It's over on our end. How about yours?" He asks, to which Shayera comes closer, wanting to be included in the report. "All clear here. Booster and Fire aren't with us though. Any clue where they are?" She asks to which Superman simply nods. "They left that sector when they saw you had it under control. We needed them for the final assault" he says causing the Thanagarian's hackles to rise. "And you didn't need us? We could've had Luthor in double time if you'd stop relegating us to cleanup" she says, the steam on her rant getting well and truly underway until Question pulls the phone away from her.

"Uhh, copy that. Thank you Superman. Over and out" he says before hanging up.

"You know it's true. Booster Gold is one of the Big Boys now? I mean come on, he's a glorified actor. You and I could've been a lot more help there. I'm tired of everyone looking at me like I'm a B-Leaguer" she says, turning her intended rant to Superman on her friend. Victor was used to it. Besides, her passion was admirable.

"Shayera, the last thing anyone thinks about when looking at you is B-Leaguer. We were here and to the people we saved, that means alot" he says simply, stopping her in her tracks mid rant.

He always had a way of saying the right thing to make her feel good. He didn't even know it. The way he would compliment her on anything, be it looks, thoughts or fighting style, would send butterflies flying up her midsection. It was flawless the what he did it.

"Well, whatever. I guess you're right. Anyways, I guess that means we're done. What do you want to do now?" She asks to which he pulls out the teleporter signal. "Chinese and a game of chess?" He asks, referencing their nightly games at his apartment. She spent more time over there than not, and although their cuddling had happened a few times again since the first night, the drinking had not. After all, they had gotten a bill for the damages from the bar owner the night after. So they mostly stayed at Vic's and as it turned out they were both lovers of chess, though Shayera was much more competitive than Victor.

"Sounds good. Can I use your shower though? No point in me going all the way home only to head back to Gotham" she says. It was an often occurrence. She had a whole dresser of clothes over at his apartment to make such movements easier. Not to mention how she spent many nights there. Chastely of course.

But, there was something between them, something unspoken. It was...strange. She had never felt quite so comfortable. And that's what their friendship was. Although, it was getting more so. It was hard to explain, after all, the idea of telling him any of this was frightening. She could tell, he wasn't over Helena. And he shouldn't be either. She wasn't over John and that had only been a breakup. For Vic? His former lover had attained sainthood as she deserved. She wasn't going to hurt their relationship by coming clean about bubbling feelings. She couldn't hurt him, force that on him. No. She would remain silent, even while acknowledging that hearing his voice sent a shiver up her spine and butterflies across her chest.

He chuckled lightly at her question, again shrugging. "Why not? You'll only use it anyway, even if I did say no".

She smirks, teasingly before looping her arm through his, providing the close contact required for side along teleportation. "Good boy. Who says men can't be trained?" She asks jokingly before the beam responds to the input coordinates.

_**Gotham City-Vic's Apartment**_

"Checkmate" he says simply, having cornered her king with his queen and three pawns, the only pieces he had left. She can't help the scowl that breaks out across her face. Thanagarians were a warlike people, and didn't take kindly to losing. Especially when she had been the more aggressive player. To lose to a lesser force? It was tactically unthinkable for her. Somehow Vic pulled it off.

"I...alright well. Whatever. Don't get too wrapped up in it. After all, it's just a game" she says pouting while pretending not to pout. "Ohh? Then why are you upset?" He asks teasingly, leaning back on the couch with a teasing smile on his face. "I'm not...alright well maybe a little" she admits teasingly.

They were both in their sleepwear as it was getting a little late, Vic in his pants with question marks on them and a white T-shirt while Shayera wore a simple nightdress that went to mid thigh. She didn't notice but Vic often checked her out while she wore something like that. It was clear that the Thanagarian didn't notice the effect she had on her friend, he her.

"I knew it" he responds easily, leading to her hitting him on the shoulder, bringing her body closer to his on the couch while she lays her head in her hand which is resting on the back of the couch.

"You always do. You're the Question" she says, smiling at him absentmindedly as her eyes trace the outline of his jaw. Silence falls, the only sound being the far off sirens that were part and parcel of living in Gotham. No doubt Batman would be out on patrol, despite having been in Metropolis today. Her mind drifts away from the caped crusader and back to her friend.

"You look….better" she says, wanting to slap her own face when the words come out. It sounded stupid, mostly because it was. He tilts his head and laughs at her statement. "What do you mean?"

"Well it's just, I guess happier. When we first met you constantly looked tired. Your eyes were always focused on something far away. Well, when we could see your eyes that is. Even your room was tidy, almost unlived in. But now? Newspapers everywhere. You smile, and even laugh. Not saying you're still not insane but it's the good kind again" she says, causing the man to look at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well, you seem to notice a lot about me" he begins teasingly before taking a deep breath. "I...I'm used to loss. I've lost a lot of people. People I loved. People I cared about. Helena" he says, the name causing his voice to quiver before he continued. "Mattered very much to me. I loved her. And I lost her. For a long time I blamed myself. I wanted to wither away and die. I was going to...kill myself but Helena, well" he says, stopping again, but this time to chuckle. "She made me go to church a lot. She kind of made me into a Catholic. A real one. Not like the Catholicism enforced I the orphanage at the end of a ruler. So that path was out. That is to say that life wasn't good. Not until we became friends. Shayera, I...I really don't know what to say other than, thank you. You saved me. Taught me that we aren't defined by our past, but the choices we make for our future" he finishes quietly.

She can't hide her shock, knowing that Vic had been holding so much in. That he was on the path of self destruction.

She brings him in close, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she presses her own body into his, sitting in his lap. "Vic, I...I didn't know" she says morosely, else to him rubbing her back, his fingers brushing against the roots of her wings, inadvertently sending shivers down her spine. "I didn't want you too. You were dealing with a lot yourself and I didn't want to put even more down on your plate"

"Vic, what I was going through, it's nothing compared to yours" she says, backing up a bit to allow her to look into his eyes, her arms still around his shoulders. "Besides, you helped me. In your own way. I see things clearly. Like you said, we aren't defined by our past. I've decided I'm only going to live in the now. Worry about the future when it comes".

"Good. That makes two of us. I'll never forget Helena, or our child, but I can go on. I will go on" he says smiling, his hand now planted on her waist.

Neither thought much of close physical contact. After all, it was friendly and had been a staple of their friendship from the beginning. Neither were afraid of being affectionate with each other. But for some odd reason this was different. The two were staring into each other's eyes and Shayera found hers slowly closing as she moved in towards the man, Vic himself doing the same. Quickly enough their lips meet, and her arms tighten around his shoulders, forcing him to move onto his back, the woman's weight helping gravity as his hands move up and down her back, the soft fabric of her nightdress riding up and exposing the back of her thighs and panty clad rear.

It was only after twenty minutes that they made it into their bed.

_**The Next Morning**_

They hadn't exchanged many words, both being lost in the feeling of being in another's arms. Shayera's wings were wrapped around Vic, bringing him close to her while his arms wrapped around her chest, cuddling her into his own. They had only woken up an hour before, but as of yet it was still hard to find words to say to one another. Instead they let their feelings be known through gentle caresses and soft kisses.

Victor is the first to break the silence. "Well, wow is the only word that comes to mind right now" he says, causing Shayera to laugh. "Well, what a way to flatter a woman" she teases, nuzzling his nose. He responds by moving in towards her wing and gently kissing it, not minding the fact that it was a wing. It was also a very sensitive spot for Hawkgirl. She finds herself quivering a bit when he does so, the romantic overtone combining with the sensation sending her into orbit. "Wow" she whispers back, her hand coming up to run through his messy, dark red hair. "You don't have to do that you know? I know it can make a guy uncomfortable. I'm just thankful you'll let me wrap them around you" she says a little sadly. She loved her wings, the ability to fly and who she was, but deep down nursed some insecurities about them.

After all, she was on a planet where the average person didn't have wings, and her only relationship with an earthling involved a good amount of avoidance of said wings.

"Why wouldn't I? They're part of you aren't they? I love you Shayera" he says, the words coming out awkwardly. He hadn't meant to say it. It didn't mean he wasn't telling the truth, she could tell he was, but he also didn't want to say it so soon.

She found herself echoing them a second later, but with even more assurance and confidence than he did. "I love you too Vic. Is it too soon for us to be saying that to each other?" She asks nervously, brushing her fingers through his hair before leaning in to kiss his lips.

"Maybe. Do you care if we are too early with that?" He asks curiously.

Silence descends for a moment, and she quickly comes up with her answer.

"No" she whispered into his ear, moving her wings off of him and turning them in the bed to straddle his waist.

_**Three Weeks Later-Justice League Watchtower **_

"No. You're telling me that Vic, our Vic, nervous and Introverted Vic did that, with you, there?" asks a laughing Dinah Lance as they sit at a table with Fire and Stargirl, who both seemed shocked. Stargirl could barely keep the blush off of her face while the Brazilian shook her head and laughed.

"How passionate. He must really love you" she says in her accented English while Canary nods. "All I can say is wow. I'm lucky if I can convince Oliver to join me in the shower. You? You got Vic on the beach. Let me guess, the old 'put lotion on my back' trick? I thought that only happened in porn".

Shayera takes a sip of her coffee and smirked, nodding at her blonde friend. "Uhh hmm. You see, Vic has a thing for my wings believe it or not. And when I turn ever so slightly he got a good glimpse of one of my breasts as well. Every man has a weakness. I'm just glad I found Vic's" she teases.

"Ohh no, are we embarrassing you Stargirl? I know you are a young girl and all, so we don't want to offend your virgin ears" Dinah teases causing the other blonde to huff and cross her arms. "I'm not a little girl you know. I know things" she says, causing the other three women to burst out laughing.

Courtney scowls and turns to the laughing Fire, poking her in the side. "So, when are you going to tell the Flash that you're in love with him. I hear you talking in your sleep you know? 'ohh Flash, pull me closer'. It's enough to wake me up, everytime" the younger woman says as she turns to the other women, teasing her older friend and roommate. Fire blushes bright red, quite a visible difference from the usual green that flared up over her body.

"That is...private" she says in response, causing the woman's guffawing to shift in target. It takes a few minutes but eventually they all calm down, Dinah turning back to Shayera. "Soooo...as much as I love discussing the bedroom gymnastics of my friends, tell me something important. How do you feel about Question?"

Shayera puts her mug down, sighing and looking off through the window into space. This was harder to talk about. Of course she told Vic all the time now she felt about him, but that was in private, and usually amidst an intense session of lovemaking. Being honest with others about it? A lot harder.

"I'm...well, I'm in love with him. I'm comfortable around him. He doesn't tell me that I'm arrogant, or correct me at every turn. He doesn't fight me, or insist that he's right. He reasons with me. More often than not he wins using that, and it's infuriating. On Thanagar a man would never just "reason" with a woman. It's always a fight. That's what I saw growing up. Even with John things were always push and shove. One had to win. One had to lose. With Vic? It's different. Compromise is key with him. Talking things over. Sometimes even flipping a coin. He's also very strange but so am I so I can't complain. Our areas of expertise are so different. He likes sniffing around back alleys and through garbage to get the truth. I like to smash my way through and get to it. He infuriates me and he doesn't even try" she says, sounding a little angry and making the other girls nervous.

She looks out through the window again and smiles. "But, despite all that….I've never been more in love with someone in my entire life. What is love if not putting up with someone's annoying habits because you can't do without their good ones?" She asks teasingly, causing Dinah to smile wide and raise her hand for a high five, something that is instantly returned by the winged woman.

"Hell yeah. To our men, and their bad habits. May they never change" she teases, Fire and Courtney joining in the toast, though the latter was a little less enthusiastic.

It's then that someone interrupts the gathering. Dinah is the first to notice, and she stands, a scowl on her face as the chair is pushed back, cluttering to the floor.

"Get out of here" she says simply to whoever it was behind them, and Fire is quick on her feet as well, emerald flames flashing up into her hands. Courtney stands too, her staff at the ready. Shayera turns, also ready for a fight but curious as to who they'd have to fight on the tower itself. It's only when she sees a nervous looking John Stewart, and her eyes go wide.

"Easy girls, I come in peace. I just wanted to talk to Shayera. Is that okay?" He asks to which he receives a quick response of "No!" shouted by three irate women.

"Alright, alright. Easy. It's fine. Sure Green Lantern. I'll speak with you" Shayera says, her tone carrying a note of anger and lack of familiarity that surprises the Green Lantern. The other three women look warily upon each other, but eventually relent. After all, they doubt that there'll be any problem. Shayera could easily handle the man, so they sat down once more, squinting their eyes angrily at him in warning.

"Thank you Hawkgirl" he says, nodding his head towards a meeting room, before she begins walking towards it, the Thanagarian woman following behind.

He holds the door open for her and enters after she does, the door hissing closed behind her as she turns and crosses her arms under her breasts. "What do you want John?" She asks, making him involuntarily wince. He knew he deserved the coldness.

"Look, I get it. You're pissed at me. Rightly so. But we need to talk" he says simply, receiving nothing but silence in return.

He rubs the back of his neck and begins to talk. "Look, when you can to me before about getting back together, I was mad. I didn't want to be forced into a decision. Didn't want to get back with you. At the time, I was in love with Mari. But...I've been thinking and...you were right. We owe this to our son. I want to make it work Shay" he says, moving closer, his hands going to her waist and pulling her close. "Are you serious?!" She shouts her hands pushing him back by his chest, moving further away from him.

She doesn't give him a chance to respond. "No John. You're not doing this to me. Not again. Not when I'm finally happy. I'm with someone John. Someone I love very deeply" she says in protest, though she can't help the tug at her heart at the mention of Rex. "What? The faceless lunatic? He's a basket case. He's lucky we even let him into the League" John says, a mocking tone in his voice that instantly raises her hackles.

"Don't you dare talk about him that way" she says, her hand going to her mace, forcing the man to raise his hands in an apologetic gesture. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all. You can't honestly think that he's the right guy for you can you? I mean, you have nothing in common. Not only are we alike, but we also have a history Shay. You can't say that means nothing to you can you?" He asks, advancing again.

A maelstrom of emotions erupt within the woman and she doesn't stop him when his arms encircle her waist again. "John stop" she whispers. "I love Vic". He doesn't listen however, and instead leans in, his lips pressing against hers as memories of their time together filter back into her mind. Due to this string of memory, she momentarily leans into the kiss and returns it.

The sound of the door opening and of voices stopping forces her to open her eyes and look over the black man's shoulders. What she sees sends a sheet of ice racing across her heart. The Flash, Vigilante and Aquaman were there, with Vic at the front, apparently getting ready for a mission brief. Without a word Vic turns and walks out, shoving his way through his own circle of friends.

Shayera quickly pushes John back, hard enough to send him into a wall. "Vic! Vic! Baby wait, please, I can explain!" She shouts, racing down the halls.

She doesn't see it but the Flash looks upon his own friend reproachfully while Vigilante holds an angered Aquaman back. "This ain't our business partner. We can hate the bastard but this is between our friend and his woman. He don't need us complicating it"

"Out of my way. This is a matter of honor. What friend will allow such an act to be done to one of his brothers?" He asks, the normally reserved and tense man showing a great deal of care for his unlikely friend.

"He's right Aquaman. This is between Hawkgirl and Question. We gotta stay out of it" he says, helping to push the still irate king of Atlantis out the door.

John Stewart slumped to the floor, ashamed of himself for the first time in a long time.

Meanwhile Shayera has reached the teleportation bay, only to find Mr. Terrific shutting off the transporter behind someone, of who she could only assume to be Vic.

"Terrific, please, help" she says, tears now streaking down her face. "Send me to where Question went. I need to speak with him. Please , I need to make him understand" she says, practically begging. The man looks obviously uncomfortable, as he turns to the now sobbing woman. "I can't Hawkgirl. I'm sorry but the Question had me erase his destination. He can't be followed right now. And aside from that, I think you should give him some space. I don't know what happened but he seems like he needs it" he says to which the woman responds with, "send me to Gotham then".

The man sighs and nods, realizing that his advice won't be taken, begins the process of revving up the teleporter. "You're clear Hawkgirl" he says, as she is embraced by the force field and disappears with a pop.

"And good luck" he adds to himself.

_**Gotham City-Vic and Shayera's Apartment **_

He knew that it could come. That a day might pass when John Stewart would wake up and realize how special Shayera was. How necessary it was to have her in his life. He knew, knew, that on that day he would lose her. He hadn't expected it to hurt, but then again, he hadn't expected to fall in love.

He was alone in his apartment, Wally having just left after checking up on him. He put his head in his hands and sighed, finding it ridiculous how he felt so hurt and betrayed. He had no reason to believe he had her loyalty when a chance to get her family back existed. But still, he had hoped that he had it.

If a chance to get Helena back presented itself, he didn't know if he'd be able to make a decision. He loved Helena, but he couldn't live in the past. He thought that Shayera was her future.

His thoughts are interrupted by a sound. Small at first, but then increasingly loud. "What the hell?" He asks, standing up and moving to the window and opening it. The first thing he sees is Shayera, standing outside, a radio over her head. It's then that he hears the song playing.

"_Baby come back, you can blame it all on me, there was something, about everything about you, baby come back"_, emanates from the radio and he shakes his head and the utter ridiculousness of it, though he can't help the smile that breaks out on his face. "Shayera, what the hell are you doing?" He asks to which the woman's responds with, "this is what people on movies do when they mess up things with someone they love" she says, obviously a little drunk.

"Shayera, that's a movie trope. An Illuminati conspiracy to increase the sale of musical tracks" he says to which she stares at him blankly before continuing.

"In the movies it convinces the person to give the one with the radio another chance. Is it working?" She asks causing the man to facepalm. "Shayera, just...uggh" he says,giving up on explaining the lunacy of her actions to the woman and moving down the stairs. He opens the front door and walks out, his robe on before taking the radio in one hand and her by the other. "Come on. You must be freezing" he says simply, causing her to smile. This was, after all, the part in the movie where the lover, usually a girl, took the person back.

He leads her up the stairs and brings her into a seat, turning off the still playing radio. "Now what the hell convinced you to do that?" He asks, sitting next to her on the couch. She blushes and moves closer and places her head on his shoulder, an act that isn't rebuffed instantly. A good sign to her.

"I thought it was a good idea. I...I messed up. Victor I didn't kiss John. He kissed me. I...well I kissed him back but only for a second, because of all the memories. But I choose you Victor. I want you to be my future. Just you…" she says before her words are muffled by his lips, pressing against her own and pulling her into his chest. It's only after two minutes that the need for air forces them apart. "What...what was that for?" She asks, blushing and smiling as she leans in for more.

"Because I forgive you. I saw the footage. Security cameras and all, and I know what happened. I guess I was just more afraid that you choose him over me. So I left. I wanted you to be happy. But I couldn't see you with him. It's that old axiom really. If you love something, let it go, and if it's meant to be then it'll come back to you. I guess when I saw you with that radio, a fact I'll be telling our children by the way, I knew you were mine. So, let's not make tonight anymore embarrassing and just get back to "I love you" huh?" He asks teasingly as he nuzzles her nose like she enjoys.

She can't help it. A smile breaks across her whole face and she jumps into his arms even more, wrapping her legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders. "Alright, take me to the bedroom then lover, I have to make it up to you somehow" she teases seductively.

With a smile and a firm grip on her rear, he stands, peppering her face with kisses. "Alright then"

_**Sixteen Years Later-Gotham City**_

"Eww, mom, dad I don't need to what that" says Penelope, their eldest, as she sits at the table with her parents.

"Why not? You know, your father and I are still very frisky. It's not something to be ashamed off" Shayera says, winking at her husband across the table. He coughs and smiles, looking down a bit before deciding to join in on teasing his daughter. "Your mom still is the hottest thing in the world sweetie. She's even sexier now than in her younger days" he says, reaching across the table and grabbing his wife's hand, pressing his lips to it. Penny just makes a gagging noise before turning to mom, deciding to get her own licks in.

"Still can't believe you stood outside and wooed Dad with a boom box. Your got your gender roles mixed up" she says, sticking out her tongue and causing the older woman to blush. "Figures that that's the part of the story you remember"

Their daughter stands, stretching out her back and pushing in the chair. "Well it's the funniest. Anyways, I'm going to leave you two to reminisce about a past love life"

"There isn't a thing that's past about it sweetie" Shayera says, causing Vic to spit out the coffee he was drinking before looking at his wife who just blows a kiss towards him.

"Double eww. Anyways, I'm going to go pick up the twins. They're at Aunt Dinah and uncle Clark's right?" She says, referencing Shayera's best friend. It was a shame about the divorce from Oliver Queen. Then again, the cheating was too much. Clark was a better match for her. At least he was better equipped to handle the Sonic scream.

"Yes dear. Thanks sweetie. You be careful on the roads. A lot of crazies out there" he says nervously, always the mother hen, especially with their eldest.

Shayera found it cute. How he was the strict parent and her the "fun one". Then again, she worried and fretted just as much. She was however better at hiding it.

"Will do dad. Will do. Besides, Henry and Lilly will be far more trouble to me than any traffic" she says as she exits the house and closes the door, leaving the older couple alone. Shayera gets up, taking the empty mugs from the table to wash them. It had been a long conversation, but worth it. Telling their daughter about their early days was fun. In a way it was like reliving them.

"So, past love life hmm?" He asks teasingly, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her waist. She's about to swat him away before her eyes widen and she feels something press against her rear through their clothes. Her husband was anything but joking.

"Really? You wanna make whoopie with an old crow like me?" She teases, turning her head to nuzzle his nose. It was a little true. She had aged. Her hair was streaked with grey and now she wore glasses. Her wings had even darkened in the tone of her feathers. Her physique was still there however, something Vic never let her forget though aside from a few gray hairs himself he was no far cry from his younger days.

"Well maybe I have a thing for older women. Especially older women with a body like yours" he teases, his hands coming up her stomach and across her chest. She shivers in anticipation, biting her lip and placing her hand on the side of his face.

"We've got at best forty five minutes until our house is full of kids. That means we can do it twice. We can joke some more, and waste time, thus making us liars for telling our daughter that we are still "frisky", orrrr" he says stressing the word. "I can throw you over my shoulders and we can get one in on the bed and another in the shower. What do you say?" He asks teasingly, making her blush as this was a side of Victor only present around her.

She liked all Victor's, but especially this one.

"Hmm, how about the second. I don't like being a liar" she teases as she feels herself being lifted. She can't help but giggle as she feels a hand steady her by placing itself on her rear end.

He kicks open the door to their bedroom and closes it with his foot, throwing her on the bed. "God I love you" he says, his voice audible through the door.

"And I love you too baby, so much. Heh, can you wear the mask again?"

"...Fine".

(_Hey all, hope you liked my story. I don't think this is my best. If it isn't clear, not a fan of Oliver Queen or John Stewart)_


	2. Chapter 2

_(So, I've decided to kind of write more than one one shot for character pairings I like. These may or may not be connected but I like writing them and I hope you do too. A little lemony. Nothing graphic, but it's there) _

_**Vic and Shayera's Apartment**_

"You gotta have a thing Vic. Tell me what it is" she pleads teasingly, turning onto her side carefully to gently rub at her boyfriend's shoulder. It was made all the easier by the fact that he was sitting up in bed, reading, or trying to read.

"I already told you. I don't have a "thing", as you put it. I'm attracted to you. All of you" he says, turning the page on the Kennedy Assassination commission's finding for what had been undoubtedly the eight hundreth time he has read it. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, sitting up a bit to lay her head in her hand, not noticing as a strap of her nightgown fell down her shoulder, exposing a hint of her breast. She didn't notice. But Vic did.

From the corner of his eye he caught it and couldn't help but look for a second before turning away, hoping that Shayera didn't see. He was a big fan of sex. Especially the lovemaking that he did with Shayera. However, sometimes, he found the Thanagarian's libido to be hard to keep up with. Any hint from him that he was in the mood and Shayera would pounce, sometimes literally.

"I'm only going to keep bugging you until you tell me" she says, poking him repeatedly in the cheek. If anyone else had seen Shayera acting so childish, they would demand a pysch evaluation or a test to see if she was a clone. Her relationship with Vic had changed a lot in the woman. She was still tough as nails, willing to settle everything with physical blows, but also softer. Much quicker with a joke or smile.

It could be...irritating sometimes to the usually introverted man, but he found that he wouldn't change her for the world. If only he could get some quiet personal time.

He sighs and grabs her wrist, gently preventing her from poking him any further. "Fine if you must know my thing is…." He says before stopping to realize that he had never thought of a "thing" to have. Nobody had ever asked him that question. His mind begins to race as he looks at the curious and waiting woman, a smile stitched onto her face. "I'm waiting. Come on Vic. I'm not going to get mad. Besides, we've all got something" she teases before nuzzling up to him, rubbing her cheek against his.

"You already know mine. It's not fair" she pouts teasingly, her hand resting on his chest as she tries to mold her front to his side.

It was true though. Only a week previously Vic had found out Shayera's thing. They were making love in their bed, normally, or so Vic thought. In the midst of a kiss Shayera gently pushed his face away, looking deeply into his eyes before kissing him again.

"Vic, I...well I want to ask you something" she said, almost nervously, as Vic moved his face into her neck, kissing and suckling on the smooth skin there. "Hmm?" He responds, deeply involved in the object of his current focus. "Well, it's a little embarrassing and feel free to say no but…" she says, letting her sentence trail off.

"What is it?" He asks, moving from her neck and staring down at her, concern in his eyes. "Everything okay Shay?" He asks, nuzzling his nose comfortingly against hers. His action causes her to laugh and nuzzle him back, her nerves gone for the moment.

"Everything is fine. It's nothing like that. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to maybe...spice things up a bit?" She asks, causing her boyfriend to turn his head. "Well, what do you mean? Lovemaking with you couldn't get any hotter" he said teasingly, causing her heart to beat heavily in her chest. She refused to show it, not wanting to give him too much of an ego boost, but whenever he complimented her she wanted to explode.

"Well, maybe it could?" She teases, moving out from under him and sitting on the bed, giving him ample view of her nude body. He couldn't help it as his eyes moved over the entirety of her beauty. From the tips of her wings, tucked in at her back, to the gentle curvature of her sides. He knew she was a warrior from a world dedicated to war, but to him? She was a work of art. "Hmm, maybe Diana is right about the Gods sculpting certain people, because you are too perfect to be natural" he teases, sitting up and placing a line of kisses along her back. She shivers in pleasure, her arm reaching around to wrap around his shoulder, forcing him forward into the kiss by the back of his head.

"I want you to spank me Vic" she teases, causing the ministrations to stop instantly. "You what?" He asks in confusion, turning the once again blushing woman around to get a good look. "I want you to spank me" she repeats causing Vic to nod and say, "okay, but umm, why?"

"I don't really know. I...well I kind of like it when you get a little rough with me. We don't have to, I just wanted to ask" she says, looking a little put out.

Vic really didn't want to. After all, children got spanked for misbehaving. He could think of no reason why he would do the same to Shayera. But, the look on her face decides it for him. As usual, he is powerless to resist her, and the puppy dog eyes she employs usually mean that she gets her way.

"We can. I just...haven't done that before. How….well that is to say, how would you like it done?"

Shayera just smiles, giggling as she moves up and kisses him, her fingers resting on his shoulders before she begins to lower herself onto her belly, gently laying her legs over Vic's. The man just watches her movements with a curious, and deeply approving eye, his sight locking onto the two pert and round cheeks that were Shayera's rear. She was bent over his waist, exposed to him completely. "Like this" she says, wiggling her butt for his amusement.

"You might like it too" she says lovingly and hopefully, glad that Vic was open to trying new things.

"So I just, slap?" He asks, lightly bringing his hand down on the fleshy cheek and getting distracted by the pleasant jiggle that followed as the impact slightly rippled through her flesh. "Well yeah but, harder?" She asks, already feeling pleasure from the slight touch. She is soon given her wish as Vic places another slap on her rear, much harder, most likely leaving a reddish imprint.

"Hmmm" she moans, biting her lip as Vic continues to deliver slap after slap to her rear. She could tell he was getting into it as well. "Do you like that? Hmm?" He asked teasingly, to which she responded with, "I've been a bad girl".

_**Present**_

Vic shakes the memory away, feeling himself getting a little worked up. He really couldn't afford that. Not if he didn't want Shayera demanding a repeat. Ever since that night, spanking had become a part of their routine. He had to admit, he enjoyed it. The usually forceful and stoic Shayera reduced to a mewing puddle while he "punished" her. It hadn't become his favorite thing of course, but he loved doing it for Shayera. After all, she enjoyed it, and he didn't judge. He'd seen too many internet search histories to judge his girlfriend for liking a bit of spanking. Especially when he saw Green Arrow's browser….no. He wouldn't go back to that. Too disturbing.

Now? Shayera was still waiting for his answer.

"Umm, uniforms?" He half says, half asks. "Uniforms?" She responds, quirking her eyebrow at him. "Yeah uniforms" he says, glad to have found something to settle on without it being strange or taboo. Lots of guys liked when their women dressed up right? Surely Shayera wouldn't see that as weird. Why was she asking all this anyways?

"What kind of uniforms?" She probes further, teasingly, her finger moving up to his chin and working at the stubble that had formed there.

"Uhh, well, you know. The normal kind?" He says, half asking as if she would give him a clue to what he himself liked.

"Vic, what the hell does that mean? The normal kind?" she says, squinting at him, trying to see if he was lying to make things easier for himself, which of course he was, but he couldn't let her know that. He had to save it.

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. Never had any experience with it but always liked that. Uniforms" he says simply, repeating his answer as if that ended the entire discussion.

"Hmmm" comes his girlfriend's response, clearly in thought. "Too bad we can't do anything with that" she says, making Vic nod. "Ahh well, it's alright. To be honest Shay, I am a little tired and I have tower duty tomorrow. I think I should turn in" he says, placing his book on the end table and turning off the lamp, gently shuffling down under the covers and keeping his arm open, allowing Shay to move in close, attaching herself to his side.

"Uniforms" she says simply, to which Vic can only yawn, his arm going around her shoulders as his head hits the pillow. "Yup" he says, and within another moment his eyes close and snores quickly follow. He wasn't awake to notice the mischievous smile that slowly spreads across his girlfriend's face. "Uniforms" she whispers once more to herself before closing her own eyes and going to sleep.

_**The Next Night**_

He was getting home a little late. He'd called Shayera, wanting to let her know so she wouldn't make something for dinner and wait for him. It was her day off after all, so he didn't want her going through any unnecessary trouble. Funnily enough, she hadn't picked up the house phone when had called later on in the day. He hadn't made much of it then, chalking it up to her being out and about. He called her cellphone and got a rushed answer, the sound of people walking and speaking around her.

"Well, just wanted to let you know I'll be a little late" he says absentmindedly, ticking away at his computer as he logged information. "No problem Vic. Little busy right now, see you later. Love you" she says before the line severs quickly.

He had thought that was strange. It sounded like she was in a store. Shayera wasn't big on shopping. She was really simple. He didn't dwell too much on it. After all, it was good if she was trying new things.

"Shayera? Are you home?" He asks, putting his hat on the coat rack, already having taken off his mask and placed it in his coat pocket. The coat is next, joining the hat on the hook next to the hat. "In here" he hears, quietly. Too quietly. His mind is instantly on alert, too much training having gone into him to not be. "Shayera? That you?" He asks, walking into the living room, ready for anything. It's dark, the light being off, something else that raised his fears. "Shayera. Why are the lights of?" He asks, reaching out to the right of the wall and flipped on the switch.

Apparently he had been right to be nervous, because he wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted his eyes.

"Shay…" he says, his eyes widening and his mouth agape.

In the middle of the room sat his girlfriend, but dressed in much different attire than she usually wore. In place of her green pants was a bare expanse of leg, covered only by a shear white panty hose that come up to mid thigh, leading up to a red checkered skirt that barely covered her rear end, leaving a generous view of her red panties.

His eyes moving up, settle on her bare midsection, her top, a white schoolgirl blouse, only buttoned at two points with the rest tied off, her breasts heaving with her breaths. Eventually, he has to move away from the glorious sight and upwards. Shayera was wearing the widest smile he had ever seen her with, while a lollipop idly was being rubbed against her lips, her vibrant red hair done up in two ponytails.

"Hi professor. I've been waiting to talk to you" she says, scooting off of the couch and sashaying her hips as she walks up toward him, accentuating the movement of her hips and wings. "Professor?" He asks curiously, as her hands come to his shoulders.

"Uhh hmm. I wanted to ask you about my grades. I thought you might also want to see my new uniform too" she teases, winking as she presses herself as much as she can into his groin.

"Grades?" He asks, his mind unable to focus on anything other than the issue at hand, mainly his girlfriend in a schoolgirls uniform.

She doesn't give him much more time to deal with his confusion before capturing his lips. Apparently that's all he needed as his hands eagerly grope her rear and lift her up, carrying her into their room. Apparently uniforms were more his thing than he had originally thought.

_**Three Hours Later**_

"So, did I pass professor?" She teasingly asks, leaning into his side and kissing his chest while an utterly exhausted Vic Sage stares at the ceiling and nods. "A plus" he says before bringing her in closer and kissing her forehead. "Do you know how much I love you?" He asks to which she blushes and rolls hers eyes. "Come on Vic" she teases to which he nods. "Alright". She frowns and quickly moves atop him, straddling his hips. "That didn't mean stop lover boy" she says, placing her face in his neck.

"I love you so much babe. You have no idea" he says, getting a rather nice view of her rear end and wincing at the red marks left by his hand, visible to him through the gap in her wings. He'd gotten a little carried away with the spanking when Shayera "admitted to cheating on a test". He still remembered her moans and whimpers.

"Good. So...how was it? Enjoy your first time with me in uniform?" She asks to which Vic catches her lips with his own and nods. "Definitely. You're one hell of a student Shay" he says allowing her to fall down once again next to her.

"Good because I have a few different ones. Police woman, firewoman, maid, nun" she says, listing off a few she bought.

"Nun?" He asks, a little scandalized by the thought. She just giggles. "I'm not Catholic. Besides, you can't tell me that you wouldn't find the thought of me hearing all those dirty thoughts of yours and telling you how to make up for it" she says giggling. Vic just laughs, overwhelmed once again by his girlfriend. "Shay, nuns don't give...ahh what the hell. We can do it sometime".

Silence reigns for a minute, the only thing audible being the sound of her breathing. "I was also able to get a wonder woman costume" she says, causing Vic's she's, which had closed, to shoot open. "Don't tell me…" he starts before being cut off. "I got the lasso too. So one of these nights I'll just have to tie you up and get to the truth".


	3. Chapter 3

(_This chapter is told from a Catholic perspective. Just wanted to say that in case you don't want to read something like that. Not going to get preachy just writing something for my faith. I'm not a good Catholic, though nobody is which surprisingly is the whole point_)

_**"Be still and know that I am God" Psalms 46:10**_

"Victor?" She asks, coming through the door of their shared apartment in Gotham city. "Victor you home?" she calls, her tears running down her cheek. "Shayera? What's wrong?" Victor Sage asks, stepping out of the kitchen. He was wearing his blue bathrobe and his red hair was wet, having apparently just gotten out of the shower.

She doesn't say anymore, instead just moving into his arms, her mace and other work related items falling to the floor and making a harsh noise. Mrs. Abernathy downstairs would complain about the noise but at the moment Vic didn't care.

He wrapped his arms around Shayera, removing her helmet and throwing it down to. He places his hands on either side of her face and looks into her tear soaked and now reddened eyes. "Shayera what's wrong?" he asks, his mind racing with possibilities. Was somebody dead? One of their friends or colleagues? What did Shayera see on duty?

"I...its...Grundy" she says before collapsing into a further stream of tears and burying her face within the cotton of Vic's robe. He just pulls her in closer and hugged her tightly. Whatever had happened, it had to be big. Shayera was not one to be easily shaken. He'd never seen her cry. She was the perfect soldier, and usually didn't show any negative emotions, always putting others first. She had to be a leader and keep her own feelings in check. But even the strongest people can fall apart sometimes and in the end Vic knew he'd be there to put her back together.

Her sobs continue for a few minutes until she seems to slow down, her entire body weakening as she does and if it wasn't for her closeness to him and his tight grip on her she would've fallen. As she begins to slip he moves an arm under her leg and scoops her up bridal style, bringing her to the couch. She removes her shoes, using her opposite foot to push them off so she wouldn't move from Vic who has taken to brushing his hand through her hair. "Shayera" he says soothingly, "it's okay. It's okay sweetie. I'm here" he says repeatedly, soothing her as best he could. It was breaking his heart to see his girlfriend so broken. If someone caused this he'd make whoever it was pay.

It takes a while longer, but eventually she calms down enough to the point where her sobs have subsided into occasional sniffles. His brushing through her hair doesn't stop though and he leans in to kiss her forehead. "Shayera, what's wrong? I've never seen you like this" he says which causes the woman to sniffle and shudder in his arms. "What happened?"

"Grundy died" she says simply, going into a rote recitation of the events that led to members of the Justice League teaming up with Solomon Grundy, who was looking for his soul. The battle didn't matter. Neither did the villain. The Justice League won. Good triumphed over evil for another day. What mattered was that Solomon Grundy sacrificed himself and saved Hawkgirl's life.

"And..I held him Vic. While he died I held him. He looked at me and he asked me if..if...I thought his soul was waiting for him. I don't believe in that Vic. I really don't and I was going to tell him that but...his eyes. They looked right at me. So trusting. He became my friend in such a short time. So I lied to him. Told him that yes I thought his soul was waiting. I..I just feel so broken Vic" she says, the tears streaming down her face as she looks at him. She looks like it and Vic pulled her to him again.

"Shay, you gave someone comfort while they were scared. Nobody deserves to be alone when they die. Grundy was so lucky to have you there with him. If he could say it he would tell you that he was so thankful" he says, trying to find things that would help his girlfriend come to grips with this. It was clear that it wasn't Grundy's death in itself that was having such an adverse affect on her, although that was part of it. What was bothering her the most was the question of if she lied to him or not.

He rubs her back as she wipes her eyes and sighs loudly. Its silent for a moment as she moves out of his arms and sits on the couch, head in her hands. He allows her her space and sits next to her, offering quiet support. Or at least he was hoping he was.

"Do you believe in anything after Vic?" she asks, turning to him and taking him off guard. "Heaven, souls and heaven? God?" she asks, fully meaning the question. He could see it in her eyes. It was an unexpected question but one he knew he had to address. Hopefully it would help her.

"Yes. I do" he says nodding and smiling, a light smile that plays on his lips as he looks out towards the window, a back alley the only view from said window.

Shayera feels her voice warble as she asks the next question, Aquaman's words echoing in her mind. "You don't understand faith Hakwgirl. You just have it" he had told her. She hoped he was wrong. She needed to understand. Understand this driving force behind so many people. This belief in something other than themselves and this hope, this indestructible hope for something better. That it all wasn't just..pointless.

"Why?" she asks, the question coming out like a breath she had been holding.

"I don't really know but...it's as if something has always been there. Maybe this doesn't make sense" he says, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing, confirming her fears that she'd never understand. "No, no please, tell me. I...I need to know" she says, moving onto her knees, the cushions of the couch providing a base for her. Victor looks over and smiles, taking her hand and kissing it. "Well, you know I was always alone in the orphanage right? Well, I slept in my own room. Nobody wanted to room with the weird kid so I kept mostly to myself. In the room, sister Maria placed a picture on the wall. It was a picture representing Jesus. He was holding a lamb and smiling, a few children around him. It was a nice picture" he says, his eyes still drawn to the window as if he was being drawn back through time.

Shayera just listens raptly, feeling as if he was unveiling one of his conspiracies and this time? It didn't sound crazy.

Victor looks down and licks his lips before going on. "I was always scared of a monster in my closet. I went to the nuns once but sister Jane made me go back to bed telling me to 'grow up and face my fears'. I didn't have a choice. I went back to bed and sat there, eyes drawn to the closet and trembling in fear. But after about a half an hour of this, something in my brain told me to pray" he says before nodding to himself.

"So I did. I got off the bed and kneeled on the side. I Folded my hands and asked God to protect me. At that moment I felt...something. I couldn't really explain it but I just felt that I was safe. The next day we did Bible study, something most kids myself included, hated. But this time? I wanted to learn more. So I read as much as I could, asked as many questions as I could and before long I could quote scripture. Whenever I'm worried or scared or just angry I just pray. I know it sounds stupid…" he says before being stopped by his girlfriend's hand on his chest.

"It's not" she says, her eyes urging him to continue.

"Well, I appreciate that. But, over the years, my faith got a little stale. I was lonely and all I really had was my work on the conspiracy. It took me awhile but eventually I decided to pray again and I asked God to…." He says stopping, his face turning bright red.

"Asked him to what?" she asks, curious at her boyfriend's sudden embarrassment.

"Well I..I prayed that I would meet someone. Three weeks later you and I were friends. Then I prayed that we might become more and...well, you decided to take a chance on me" he says with a smile on his face as he rubs her cheek. "You prayed that we'd start dating? Why would God care about that? It seems so small and unimportant considering everything else" she says, feeling nothing but confusion. "And if he has that kind of power, why didn't he save Grundy?" she asks, accusingly, as if Victor was in charge of those decisions.

Victor shrugs and sighs. "I know. It's hard to think on that. That God loves us enough to care about our petty little issues or wishes, pretty big important wishes" he says, pecking her cheek. "But also that bad things happen. Maybe those things happen for a reason. Maybe, just maybe, he wanted you to ask these questions and he knew that Grundy would be able to get you to ask"

"But why did Grundy have to die? Why does anyone have to die?" she asks, almost falling into tears again before Victor answers. "Maybe he wants them with him. Maybe, maybe it was Grundy's time to come home" he says knowing that the answer would never satisfy Shayera, but realizing that it was the only answer he could give her. "I don't have all the answers Shay. All I know is that I have to trust him and what he has planned for me".

For a minute he thinks that he's upset her but finally she smiles, a sad small smile as she fingers his robe. "I got you all wet again," she says, causing him to smirk. "I'll just consider it my second shower," he teases, nuzzling his nose against her own. After a few moments of contents closeness she stands up and picks up her mace. "I'll take a shower too. See you in a minute" she says and heads off to shower.

Vic just picked up the rest of her stuff and put it on her side of their room, not having any clue on how the Thanagarian organized her stuff before he moved off to his dresser. He took off his robe and slipped into a t-shirt and flannel pajama pants before getting ready to slip into their bed.

"Vic?" he hears Shayera behind him and he turns towards the door. Shayera was dressed in a nightdress, open at the back to allow her wings space to breathe. "Yeah Shay?" He asks, moving back from the bed. He just stares at her and from the way her eyes look at the floor and the look on her face, he can tell that this is important. "Can you teach me? How to pray?" she asks, almost as if she was nervous about praying.

"Of course. We can pray together" he says, motioning for her to join him beside the bed. She does and he moves to his knees, a motion she quickly follows until they both are beside the bed, knees touching. He reaches over and takes her hands, moving them upwards and interlocking them together. He does so himself and lays his head on his hands. "And now, you just say whatever comes to mind. Out loud or to yourself. Either way he'll get the message" he says smiling at her. "Is there anything I need to say?" She asks, as if praying was some machine to turn on.

"No. You really just say what's on your mind or what you need to tell or ask him" he says waiting for Shayera to put her head over her hands. "You don't have to if you don't want to" he says before Shayera moves her head, resting her chin against her fingers. "No. I want to" she says before closing her eyes and breathing. She keeps up her motion of breathing in and out before beginning, mentally thinking the words she wanted God, if he existed, to hear.

"God, if you're listening...this is odd. Strange and odd but..if you're listening, I hope Grundy is with you. And that he has his soul again. I also just want to thank you..for Vic…." She says, the rest of her prayer trailing and meandering until time seems to slip away and she feels as if she is in a sea of comfort and safety

Victor is praying as well, as he does every night but now he looks up and sees Shayera's lips moving of their own accord. He listens and can pick up the faintest of words. "Please protect Vic...keep our friends safe" she says to herself, having apparently forgotten about that Vic was there. Vic just watched her, smiling as she finishes. One of her eyes open, and she seems to ask her question out of the side of her mouth, "how do you finish?" She whispers and he smiles. "Say Amen" he whispers back.

"Amen" she says and begins to stand up, stretching as they had both spent a few minutes kneeling. "How do you feel" he asks, sitting on his side of the bed and opening the blanket for her to slip in. "Better" she says quietly, a small smile playing on her lips. "I...well...I think that Grundy is somewhere much better" she ventures, as if she was unsure of her own words.

"He is. What did you pray for? Or about?" he asks, a little curious about what his girlfriend had prayed for. "I can't tell you" she says causing him to laugh. "It's not like a shooting star Shay but..that's okay. I don't need to know" he says, leaning over and kissing her on the lips before turning and dimming the table lamp.

"I prayed that Grundy was with him. And to protect you and our friends. And well, to thank him. For..well, a lot" she says, turning onto her side to face Victor.

"That's a good prayer Shay"

"Do you think it'll be answered?"

"Yes Shay. I think it will. I love you. Goodnight" he says, pulling her close to him and nestling her head under his chin.


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright sweetie. Do you remember what I said?" Vic asked from the driver's seat while looking at his daughter in the rearview. She was idly kicking her feet up and down, finally happy to have been out of her booster seat and seated normally. "No water from public drinking fountains?" she asks, unsure if that was what her dad was talking about.

"That's right sweetie. Good job" he says, causing Shayera to hit him lightly on the shoulder from the passenger seat. She turns and smiles at her daughter, reaching back to ruffle through her hair, red like both of her parents. "Don't worry about drinking fountains. If you're thirsty, take a drink" she says before turning back around and glaring at her husband.

He focuses on the road, a smile playing on his lips. "What?" she asks him. "Ohh nothing. It's just that despite you not believing any of my "paranoid ramblings", I couldn't help but notice that you packed extra purified water from home into her backpack" he says causing her to blush.

"So? Maybe I just don't want her to not have something? Weren't you a boy scout? What about that motto, "be prepared" I think?" she asks him before turning back to Penny. "Maybe you should avoid drinking fountains sweetie. There could be germs and all that. You've got bottled water in your backpack" she says, turning back once more and looking out the window, the Vreeland Elementary School coming into view, which was only one part of the larger Vreeland Academy. It was almost like a college campus with how large it was.

"Uhh hmm" he says simply, having won the argument.

"Jerk" she whispers with no malice in her voice. "Pretty Bird" he whispers back teasingly, increasing the size of her blush as he does.

"Are we almost there?" Penny asks from the back seat to which Vic turns and nods. "Yup. Pulling in right now" he says, moving behind a blue sedan that was dropping off a bunch of kids. Shayera hears the nervousness in his voice and she can't help but smile at him, reaching over to hold his hand while he undoes his seat belt. He smiles back and squeezes her hand with his own before they both disengage their seatbelts and exit the car.

Penny had already undone her seatbelt and was raring to go, her backpack looking comically large on her with all the extra things her parents packed for her. The aluminum foil lining didn't help much either as the pack crinkled noisily every time she moved. "So nobody can see with infrared what's in her backpack," he had said to his wife at the time.

"Alright sweetie. Are you ready?" Shayera asks, opening the door and letting her daughter out before moving onto her knees and placing her hands on Penny's shoulders. "We can still homeschool you if you want" Vic says, moving onto his knees besides his wife and smiling at his daughter. "Uhh unn. Kathy goes here" she says, as if that explained everything to everyone and Vic nods, sighing at the loss of the battle.

Kathy Wayne was his goddaughter and the daughter of Bruce Wayne and his wife Selina Wayne `nee Kyle. She was also Penny's best friend. The two had been inseparable since they were introduced as children and when Kathy asked Penny if she would be going to school in the fall Penny fell all over the idea. Shay and Vic had both agreed to homeschool her and this new plea from their daughter, to allow her to go to a normal school, can out of right field.

"Public school? In Gotham? We can't let her. She's only a kid" Shayera had said behind closed doors that night, pacing curiously as Vic tried to reign in his own fears. "Well, to be fair it's not a _**public **_school. It's private and if Bruce is sending Kathy there it can't be too bad, right?" he asked, almost as if he was asking himself the question instead.

"She's going to be mugged. This is Gotham. That's all that happens here" she said, not even acknowledging his words as she continued to pace back and forth.

However, over the months Bruce had come over to speak with them, even offering to cover the cost of enrollment in the prestigious school. It wasn't the money. It really wasn't. Shayera and him made a tidy amount from Vic's investigative journalism and Shayera, believe it or not, having written a few novels under a pen name. It was about letting their little girl off on her own.

Bruce Wayne with his persuasive skills turned out to be no match for the puppy dog eyes of Kathy Wayne and Penny Sage all at once. So, here they were, coming to drop Penny off.

Shayera and Vic take their daughters hands, one on each side and begin to walk her to the school entrance. It was busy, but much less busier than other schools in the area. Other cars line the drop off zone, most kids just being pushed out to bring themselves into the school. It was sad in many respects. Scared children, going into something new without the support of their parents. It was all too common in Gotham. The world really. Parents checking out and letting a screen raise their children. She refused to raise her daughter that way and refused to raise her the way she had been raised either.

She would always be there to support her and help her along.

It was just too bad that at this moment in time Shayera and Vic both seemed more nervous than Penny who hummed as she skipped along between her parents, apparently unafraid of what lies behind the sinister doors of the dreaded school.

"Vic. Shayera. Over here" comes a voice from down the pavement and Vic looks up to see Bruce Wayne, as usual, immaculately dressed in a suit and tie. Selina stands right next to him, dressed in a simple but elegant red dress while Kathy stands in front of them.

The two children zip away from their parents and right at each other, locking arms and screaming each other's names. It was clear where their priorities lied.

The two pairs of parents walk up to each other, their daughters still jabbering away at each other over what they planned to do in school and where to sit during lunch.

"How are you doing Vic? Been a little while" Bruce says, smiling as he shakes the other man's hand. It wasn't true. They'd seen each other two days ago when Vic was on watchtower duty, but secret identities made it so they couldn't exactly acknowledge that. "I'm alright Bruce. All things considered" he says, looking over towards Penny and smiling. "You too huh? Couldn't get any sleep last night. It's been a little hard to let go" Bruce says, obviously understating the issue for him. Batman? Letting his daughter be instructed by someone else and out on her own? It was unthinkable. Bruce had changed a lot since he married Selina. He was softer now. Less hard driven. He was still the same old Batman. The one who punched teeth in and brooded in his cave. Now though? He had to be home by nine to tuck in Kathy and read her a story.

"Selina talked you into this didn't she?" he asked his friend, whispering quietly. "Yes" Bruce says simply, nodding with a grim look on his face. "But Kathy talked her into it" he added in self defense, sounding a bit childish. "I figured. These girls are killing us" Vic says in response as he unzips Penny's backpack, unknown to the girl who continues talking animatedly to her friend, while he checks to ensure that all the safety measures he put in were still in place.

"Did you install an emp shield in her backpack or something?" Bruce asks with a smirk.

When he receives no smart reply and only silence in return his smile falls. "Ohh tell me you didn't..." he begins before Vic just shrugs. "Well, so? Just want to make sure the cell and backup communicator we gave her works" he says. "Why? Are you telling me that Kathy isn't wearing a "Batpack" full of gear and tools on her back?" Vic asks with a smirk and an accusing eye.

Bruce just coughs to hide his reaction. "Thought so" Vic says before standing up, zipping Penny's backpack closed. It was another surprising thing that had surfaced through the years. The friendship between the Sages and the Waynes. Well, also the Kents but Dinah and Clark lived in Metropolis or undoubtedly they'd be here at the moment.

"Would you uhh, be willing to make one for Kathy too? It's been hard for me to get the repulser to work in such a small space" Bruce says to Vic.

"Don't worry. I installed one in her backpack right after I did Penny's. You're good" Vic says, indeed having done it on one of the girls many playdates. "Thanks" Bruce says simply. Both men went out on a limb all the time for each other's daughters. It was just natural at this point.

On the other side of the children Selina hugs Shayera and both begin talking, having taken easily to each other years back. "I wish I could say that Bruce was the only one worried but….I'm scared to death Shayera. I mean, this isn't P.S 19 where I learned how to pickpocket and lockpick but damn if I'm not scared" she says right as a mother and her two sons walk by. "Sorry" she said, referencing her usage of the word damn. "Ohh don't worry. They hear worse at home" the woman says, her two sons paying no mind as they are glued to their portable gaming devices. When the woman passes Selina just turns and shakes her head.

"See what I mean? These kids aren't being taught good things at home. Glued to a screen? Come on" she said, being just as much a mothering hen as Shayera found herself becoming.

"I know. It's awful. I mean, not worse than my upbringing. Better to go to school to learn rather than to fight" she says. "I want Penny learning Arithmetic and literature more than I want her to learn mace wielding 101" she says.

"Look mommy! That woman has wings! Is she an angel?" a little boy passing asks, pointing at Shayera. "Tommy, it's very rude to point and no, at least I don't think so. That's Hakwgirl" the woman says, casting an apologetic glance as she leads her son. "So sorry. He is very excitable" she says, which Shayera waves off. "No need to apologise. It's perfectly fine" she adds with a smile at the young boy who just looks bashful. "Well, I didn't mean to point. I'm sorry" he says, looking at the ground. "Aww, well it's fine little guy" she said, watching them walk off.

"At least some kids are going to be alright. At the very least a few have manners" Selina says with a laugh.

Shayera doesn't have time to respond as the principal comes out onto the steps of the school and announces, "class is about to start. Parents are not permitted beyond this point without permission. Come on in children" he says, looking every bit the part of a stereotypical principal. Selina, Bruce and Vic and Shayera all drop to their knees, beginning to pepper their daughters faces with kisses while the men both look over their safety measures one last time while saying goodbye.

"Alright honey, anything goes wrong, you call me. Mommy and I will be right there" Bruce says to Kathy who just rolls her eyes, already so mature and like her mother. "Daddy, it's school. Not Arkham" she says, causing Vic to smile.

"Alright, Penny, we love you. Okay? Anybody bothers you, call me and I'll set them straight. Alright?" Shayera says to her daughter who nods, smiling up at her. "There's no Illuminati here right mommy?" she asks, looking a little concerned. Before Vic could jump in and say anything that would scare their daughter Shayera smiles and shakes her head. "No, no sweetie. The Illuminati only live in Daddy's brain" she says teasingly although she herself wasn't too sure. "Okay" Penny says, feeling buoyed by her mother's assertion.

"Come on in kids" the principal says, apparently wanting to hurry the process of offloading along. "Bye mom, bye dad. I love you" Kathy and Penny parrot, heading off into the school themselves with their waving parents behind them. "Love you too" they all shout back, finding themselves alone on the sidewalk of the school.

"Are we really the only parents who have trouble with this?" asks Shayera who looks around in shock. "I guess so" Selina says grumpily as the two men look towards the school.

A moment of silence passed as they all stand there, looking at one another.

"You guys have no intention of leaving do you?" Bruce asks.

"...nope" comes Shayera's reply as Vic shuffles to the side, embarrassed at being so predictable.

"Good. Because we have a nice spot picked out on the apartment building's roof across the street" Selina says, taking Shayera's arm. "Let's go"

_**5 Hours Later**_

"See anything?" Vic asks Bruce for the eighth time as he looks through the binoculars at the playground. "Nope. They're still just on the swings" he says in his signature monotone while Selina pouts in the corner of the roof. "Kick me out? Pfft. Didn't even cut the crust off of her sandwich. It's like they don't even care about the kids. Are they running a prison or something?" she says angrily as she remembers what had happened to her after Kathy and Penny's history class. At snack time peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were given to kids without peanut allergies. When she noticed that they didn't cut Kathy's crust off and that as a result she wasn't eating it, Selina had tried to sneak in and quickly cut it off herself.

She was doing well, having undone the latch of the window and using the school desks for cover. She'd almost made it to Kathy's desk before the teacher saw her.

The others only saw her being escorted out of the building. She would've been arrested if she was anything other than a concerned parent.

Shayera had also gotten in trouble for flying past the windows of her daughter's class to make sure she was safe.

Vic and Bruce also had to endure a lecture from the principal for trying to project information into the school to assist their daughters with a quick math test. The test wouldn't be graded, it was just given to the students to let teachers know how much the students already knew. Bruce still wanted to help his daughter and god daughter so he used a small variant of the bat signal to project the answers onto Kathy's desk. Vic? Well he was more or less lectured about the safety hazard caused by turning off the water fountains.

All four were now known to the school administrators as hovering parents. Their pictures were even taken and put on the wall of the principal's office to let the staff know about their antics.

"I guess it's safe to say none of us like schools, or trust them with our daughters" says Selina with a sigh. "I mean, my school was pretty dog eat dog. Or cat mostly" she says, making a joke at her own expense. "I didn't learn anything but how to be a better criminal there" she says. "And it wasn't much better at home. At least until I left".

"School was my home" Vic says, taking his turn at the binoculars. "I was an orphan. And the sisters at the orphanage cared about my lessons and me learning them more than they cared about me losing my parents" he says. Shayera gently takes his hand, squeezing it to support him. He smiles and lifts her own, kissing the back of her hand

"School was very lonely for me. At home? Well, I had Alfred who was great at fathering but ...I was still lonely" Bruce says, his own wife nuzzling into him and kissing his cheek.

"School for me was more about war than anything else. We had comrades, not friends. And at home it was all reinforced again. Parents didn't see you as their children. Only as future soldiers" Shayera says with a frown.

It quiets down and all that can be heard is the sound of children playing, drifting across the field. "Alright, so we didn't have the best childhood. So what? What really matters is them isn't it? That they can have the best childhood possible? Our parents weren't there to hold our hands on the first day of school. So? We're here to hold our kids hands, and maybe, maybe that makes it better. That we know all the more what a child needs. Because we didn't have it. Schools almost over. Let's go do something with them" Vic says, causing everyone to look at the man with a mixture of affection or respect. Shayera turns his head by grasping his chin between her fingers and kissing him harshly.

The bell rings and the students come in from the playground, undoubtedly to grab their stuff and get ready to head home. "Let's go get our baby" Shayera says with a smile before swooping down over the parapet. Vic joins here, sliding down the fire escape while Selina back flips over the side and uses her whip to grasp metal and safely land. Bruce, making sure nobody can see him, pulls out his grappling hook and makes to join his friends.

Vic was right. The kids are what mattered most.


	5. Chapter 5

(**_So this is probably going to be a light story arc within the Shayera/Vic saga. Probably a two parter. Maybe more if it suits me. I want to know what you guys think about this first one, if you want me to continue it_****_so please review. I think the concept is interesting_**_)_

_**The Time War: France, June 8th, 1944. Somewhere Outside St. Mere Eglise**_

Shayera grasped her mace tightly against her, the steel digging into her flesh and causing her a bit of pain. She ignores it. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. Like the German patrol coming down the road at that very moment.

"Shit. They didn't say that there would be armor" Steve Trevor says from besides her, his Tommy gun laying a few inches in front of him. He was holding his binoculars and scanning the road, the rumble of anti aircraft fire in the distance lighting up the sky at random. Or at least it appeared so. In reality the German anti air was targeting allied air transports and with Vandal Savage's technological assistance the third reich was swatting the paratroopers out of the air. More often than not they managed to down the whole plane and kill the whole group before they even hooked up their lines.

It was infuriating. Sitting here and watching those young boys die, helpless, and falling to the Earth if they weren't fortunate enough to be killed on the first impact.

Trevor had already stopped her from flying off to assist once before, and unfortunately, he had made a point. "You can't help them. Even you will be killed instantly. All it takes is one hit from one of those Vril cannons and you're done" he had said. Diana had backed him up, and it was two to three.

She didn't need to be told about how devastating Savage's technology could be. She'd seen it first hand. It started a few weeks back when the Justice League received a call to stop an assault on Star Labs. It had been simple enough before they got there. Vandal Savage was a tougher than average opponent, but the league had taken him down before. He had been after something very specific, and the league was only able to get to him after he had reached whatever it was he was after. Apparently whatever it was was contained within the top secret experimental weaponry wing of Star Labs.

"It's over Savage. Give it up. There's no way you're getting out of this" the Flash said, moving forward towards the hulking man who had his back to the whole group. "Of course Flash. Of course. However, my hands are rather full" he says, turning with some form of rifle in his hands. He fired a round which the Flash easily dodged, hitting the wall behind the Question and Hawkgirl.

Fortunately, at that moment both were able to hit the deck, avoiding being vaporized or whatever the rifle did to a person. "Well, I'm glad we left the kids with Clark and Dinah for the weekend" Vic says, putting his fedora back on as it had fallen off of his head.

Shayera couldn't help the smile that split her face, taking this moment to tease her husband. "Ohh yeah. It's great that we left Penny with John. I'm sure with Lois so busy with Henry and Lily that they'll be completely unsupervised. After all, Clark really is a scatterbrain don't you think?" she teases, elbowing him in the side before getting up and taking flight, intent on reaching Vandal.

"Ohh joy of joys" he says to himself, his mind now fixated on his daughters obvious crush on Clark's son, before jumping up as well to join the fight.

Shayera was truly something to watch in battle, whirling around and swinging her mace as if she were an avenging angel. Unfortunately, she had a habit of losing herself in the thrill of combat and during one of her assaults on Savage, she overshoots her attack, and passes him, leaving her rear completely exposed to the immortal villain. Savage wasted no time and turned, the strange rifle seeming to emanate energy as it fires up, a blue hue emanating from its muzzle. "Shayera watch out!" he shouted and before either of them knew it he was running at her, arms outstretched. He managed to reach her just in time.

He pushed her out of the way just as the rifle went off, catching Vic in its crossfire. Shayera was able to look back from her position on the floor to see the outline of her husband caught in the blue energy surrounding him. Slowly, torturously slowly, Vic seemed to disintegrate, until nothing was left. Not even ash on the floor.

"No!" she screamed, reaching out towards her husband as if she could still reach him. The tears streamed out of her eyes and down her mask as the battle continued behind her. The Flash, Diana and Martian Manhunter confronted Savage behind her as she moved to her feet.

Vandal, sensing the battle turning against him, threw something onto the floor, and stepped into a portal, disappearing into it.

"Shay, I know. I know. God I know it hurts but we have to go. We have to stop Savage" Wally said, a hand on her shoulder as she stood, not even making to wipe the tears from her eyes. She was enraged and that was the only force that pushed her forward.

She rushed through the portal, followed by Wally and Diana, J'onn having already gone through.

All she remembered was a blinding blue light, and the next moment, she was in the middle of multiple rifle barrels pointed at her.

The group had arrived at 10 Downing Street, though they had no idea at the time where they were, or as it would turn out to be, WHEN they were. They had just dropped in on Winston Churchill, and his guards, soldiers of the Royal Irish Guards, were very itchy when it came to defending the prime minister and their Lee Enfields looked all the more menacing when there were twenty of them pointed right at them.

"Easy now, easy. I'm afraid that you ladies and gentlemen have me at a disadvantage" came the voice of Winston Churchill, stepping forward and calming the nervous Irishmen. "Who are you?" He had asked simply.

After talks with the British government, after a lengthy term of imprisonment and vetting, the Justice League members were released on the orders of the prime minister who decided to trust what they had told him. As it turned out, the British Government had need of them. It was May, 1944 and if Shayera's understanding of Earth history was correct the turning point of World War two in Europe was about to commence.

Hawkgirl found herself a background participant. Sure, she spent most of her days in the air, fighting off German bombers and preventing them from attacking London but in the end she found herself too focused on the loss of her husband to think about the historical circumstances she found herself in. Even the fact that the Germans were experiencing a new surge in battlefield victories that wasn't historically accurate to her timeline wasn't enough to draw her attention away.

It was all that Diana and the Martian Manhunter could think on however, as Diana had made contact with an American intelligence agent, Steve Trevor, who would take operational command of the superpowered group quickly becoming known as the Defenders. It was clear that Diana was attracted to Trevor too, but she was trying to fight it. It would be a source of teasing from the Thanagarian if Vic were still alive.

Shayera shakes her thoughts away, focusing on the mission at hand to the best of her abilities. The invasion had happened and Hawkgirl had been in the front lines since the start. They all had, though Wally and J'onn had been sent to the Pacific. It was an unmitigated disaster. The Germans were better equipped and prepared than they had even thought. Apparently, Vandal Savage was a Field Marshall, and his technological improvements to the German army had yielded results. Even now, the Germans were pushing well into Russia, retaking all the land they'd lost since the Russian counter offensives following the battle of Kursk. The Wehrmacht once more stood at the gates of Moscow.

Normandy was no different. Laser weapons and mechanized suits, tanks the size of battleships. They all served to help turn the tide of battle in the Germans favor. The allies had landed, and managed to secure a beachhead, but at the moment, that's all it was. A small bulge in largely uninterrupted German defensive line. The allies were struggling, gasping for breath and casualties were mounting.

What was worse than the carnage on the beaches were the men stuck behind the lines. Paratroopers who were dropped in the hope of securing territory ahead of the allied breakout from the beaches. They were no scattered, lost and slowly being picked off by German patrols. That was the Defenders mission today. To alleviate some of the pressure on these lost soldiers and assist them in forming pockets of resistance. Hence the ammo crates Diana was dragging around with her. Hawkgirl carried the medical supplies.

"So what are we going to do?" Wonder Woman asked Steve who just nodded, as if he already had an answer. It was clear from his facial expression that he didn't have a clue how to tackle the tank. "Well, judging by those collar tabs we're dealing with an SS detachment. Which means they've got the STG 44 assault rifle and maybe an assortment of other goodies from Savage. The tank, it's a Panther, but judging from all the wires sticking out of the turret and that glow from the turret I'd say it is hooked up with some Vril energy" he says, shaking his head.

"We're going to have to be really careful. They're heading towards Villiere Beaumont, and the 101st has a field hospital set up there" Diana adds, which Hawkgirl nods her agreement with. She was still haunted by the wounds some of the men suffered from. Arms or legs vaporized, holes the size of golf balls punched into them. Savage had certainly stepped up his game in the field of human misery. "We have to take them out, but we also have to…."

Steve was going to say that they had to be careful. He always did and if Shayera was honest with herself she had stopped caring about careful. She was downright tired of it. Her husband was dead and it was becoming more and more doubtful by the day that she'd ever see her kids again. Being careful ended the day Vic died and she was thrown back into the second world war. She quickly engaged the energy source on her mace, electrifying the weapon, and takes to the air, flying out over the trees and heading straight for the German troops. She lets out her fierce war cry and the first German turns just in time for her mace to crash against his helmeted head, caving in the helmet and part of his skull. The man falls while the others raise their rifles, trying to shoot the Thanagarian in flight.

"Mein Gott. Ein Valkyrie!" one shouts, getting a string of bullets off. They meet only empty air but as she turns and swings her mace, Diana and Steve rush out of the trees, catching a German attempting to shoot at the woman's exposed back in a hail of bullets from Steve's tommy gun. Shayera doesn't even notice, and she doubted that she'd care if she did. There was a part of her that wanted to die. To die a warrior's death and be in paradise with Vic. Penny, Henry and Lilly kept her back.

"Kill her! Shoot the bitch out of the sky" comes an angry voice, coming from a black capped officer standing by a group of soldiers and on his orders the tank, motionless until now, seems to roar to life. She flies at the officer, hearing his words. Once more, Shayera is too busy, punching the officers face in with her bare hands, bloodying her knuckles and breaking the officers nose. His face was bloodied and red but Shayera didn't stop, not even as the Panthers gun seems to rev up, the same thing that had happened with Savage's rifle happening along the barrel.

"Shayera watch out!" shouts Wonder Woman, too far away to make it in time. Shayera doesn't seem to notice, intent on beating the SS officer to a pulp.

The tank is just about to fire its Vril round and Steve and Diana both ready themselves to watch their friend be killed when all of the sudden an explosion rocks the tank, causing it to explode, the Vril energy scattering and killing many Germans, disintegrating them completely in a cacophony of lights before the whole panther explodes. The turret is sent into the air by the explosion, which leaves little else of the body except for the tracks and half of the chassis.

Shayera feels the heat of the explosion on her back and turns, watching the blue flames simmer down to nothing until only the sound of crackling flames and the cries of a few wounded Germans echo into the air. Shayera drops the officer, turning to see some dark shapes emerge from the bushes beside the road. "Identify yourselves" shouts Steve, bringing his tommy gun up and training it on the shadows, probably expecting more Germans to appear.

"Relax there. If we wanted you dead it wouldn't have been smart for us to take out that panther. You're welcome by the way" says the lead shape, reaching down and lighting a cigarette, the lighter illuminating his gruff and chiseled face.

"Sgt. Rock. Easy company. This is Bull, Wildman, Ice, Sure Shot and Lunatic" he says, motioning to the other shapes behind him.

"Lieutenant Trevor. OSS. How are you boys doing out here?"

"We're fine Lieutenant. Thanks for asking" he says, a smirk on his face as the others laugh. Trevor looks down, obviously a little embarrassed at such an obviously answered question. How could anyone by "doing well" out here?

Steve turns to focus on other more pressing matters.

"Thanks for the save Easy. This is Diana of Themyscira. Also known as Wonder Woman. And this is…." he starts before being interrupted as Shayera hears her name.

"Shayera" the voice says, coming from one of the shadows behind the Sgt. It's so familiar and feels normal, but she knows, deep down that it couldn't be. She turns, her eyes scanning the darkness, a hand on her mace in case it was another one of Savage's tricks. It was well known that the Defenders had become a special target for Savage over the past month and it wasn't rare for Savage to use his radio broadcasts to taunt Shayera over Victor's death.

The sound of a rifle dropping to the ground is followed by the shadow coming closer, the moonlight Illuminating more and more of the figure as the man comes out of the cover of the trees by the roadside. More and more was becoming clear to her and she could see that he was dressed as a normal G.I, webbing and equipment slung about his midsection and a helmet on his head, the shadow obscuring his face. Only when his face was illuminated by the angle of the moon did Shayera gasp, her mace dropping to the ground as her hands went to her mouth.

"Vic?" she asks, watching as the man takes off his helmet, his red hair coming into view. Tears threatening to spill out of his eyes he smiles, and swallows, clearly overcome at seeing his wife again. "Yeah. It's me" he says, and before anyone can even blink she is in his arms, sobbing as her wings fold over his midsection, pulling him even closer to her. "I thought...I thought I lost you" she sobs, his hand going to the back of her head and rubbing gently, just taking in the feel of her body against his, her scent.

"I did too Shay. I did too" he says who everyone remains quiet around them, a smile splitting Diana's face while Trevor just nods, having heard from Diana what had happened to Shayera and Vic.

"This the woman you won't shut up about Lunatic? If so, damn I can see why. She's a doll. Didn't mention the wings though" Ice says behind them, smirking as he razzes his friend a bit.

"Shut the hell up Ice" says Rock, glaring at the man and cowing the usually outgoing soldier, as he had decided to let Vic have a moment with his woman. Bull and Sure Shot sit off to the side smiling as Wildman light a cigarette. All of their eyes trained on the couple. They both stood there, gently rubbing each other's cheek and kissing one another, laughing through tears. "It's really you" he says. "Know any other girls with wings Vic? And if so, should I be concerned?" She asks, arching an eyebrow before Vic laughs aloud.

"Wings don't make the woman" he teases.

"Don't want to interrupt but, we gotta get inside. The Krauts are bound to have heard the gunfire and seen that explosion for miles. They'll want to investigate. We got a farmhouse we've been using for a base of operations. Not too far. Easy, move out" Rock says, motioning with his hands as Vic leans down to pick up his rifle, his other arm still wrapped about Shayera's waist. "Let's go. We'll talk more at the farm".

(_Hope that was interesting. Let me know what you want to see in part two. Maybe suggest some other elseworld type stuff? Like a Red Son storyline? Let me know. I hope this was at least interesting)_


End file.
